Advertisement
Published: April 20th 2007
Bright Lights, BIG City
Arriving in Auckland we got a shock at what it is like to be in a big city again. The rest of New Zealand is pretty laid back and peaceful including Christchurch. Auckland instantly hits you as being completely different with a totally different pace of life. On the way from the airport we were stuck in our first traffic jam that wasn't caused by a run down camper van!
We spent 2 nights in Auckland wondering around and having a look up the skytower. We then hired yet another run down 12 year old car and headed south.
Coromandel Peninsula
First stop on the North Island Tour was the Coromandel Peninsula. We headed for the Hahei and the nearby
Hot Water Beach. First thing the next morning we went to the beach at low tide and found that there were already lots of people bathing in steaming pools of water dug out in the sand. We hired a shovel and set about looking for a patch of unoccupied sand. After several fruitless attempts digging and only finding freezing water, someone left their pit so we jumped straight into the pre-dug
hole - though only after strengthening the sea defense against the incoming tide. After several minutes of enjoying the warmth our pit was breached by a waved filling the hole with freezing sea water. We then abandoned the pit and simply sat on the sand where the water was hottest. We only had to dig down an inch before we struck piping hot water so the occasional cold wave was pleasantly refreshing and stopped us getting too scolded.
After the hot beach we headed to Whitianga where we had a go at bone carving. Good fun, though the instructor was a bit of a perfectionist and would not let us go until our bone carvings were sanded to her standards. Very pleased with the finished products, though we try to forget we are wearing bits of cow shin around our necks!?!
Next stop: Roturua
As anyone who has been here before will understand - you know when you are getting close to Roturua as you have to very quickly close the car windows and swiftly turn off the fan - the smell takes some getting used to.
Our first activity was another Kiwi must-do. Both
of us jumped into a 15-foot sphere, topped it up with a bit of water (warm, thank god) and pushed ourselves off the top of a 200m slope. Seriously folks... whoever thought of the idea of zorbing should be give a nobel prize or locked up in a loony bin - not sure which. Great fun and the only damage was to Pete's ear drums having to listen to Ang's hysterical and very high pitched laugh all the way down.
We spent the afternoon walking around Lake Rotorua and holding our noses as the combination of the sulphur lake mixed with bird poo was absolutely gross. Lots of geothermal activity with bubbling pools of brown liquid , steaming rocks and lots more eggy smells.
That evening we did what was undoubtly the most touristy thing we have done on this trip. We spent an evening at the Matariki Maori Entertainment Centre. The evening was good fun and seemed to be the only way to see some of the maori dancing and singing without spending double the money visiting a Maori village. We even got dragged up onto the stage to help out in some of the dances. Ang
had a go at a Poi dance - she nearly got the hang of it after hitting herself in the face with the pom-poms. Pete got his chance to perform the Haka with a group of men chosen for the task as they were suitably ugly enough.
Mud, Glorious Mud
Seeking a bit of relaxation from the stress of travel (we really cannot comprehend what stress is anymore) we sought retreat in the Hells Gate Thermal Spa. First we walked around the bizaar landscape of steaming rocks, hot pools of bubbling liquids (up to 120 degrees and pH1), mud volcanoes and hot waterfalls. By now we were getting used to the smell and the dip into the hot mud bath was great. After 20 minutes bathing in the hot mud, we jumped straight into a cold shower which was not so great - and then into the hot sulphur-water spa. Very relaxing and after a day or so the smell of the eggy water faded from our skin. We hand washed our swimmers before putting them in the main wash with the rest of our clothes. We thought we got all of the smell out of them
Health Warning stating the obvious
At hot water beach there is hot water - very, very hot water- we were very wrong. So for the last week all of our clothes have been tinged with a slight sulphur smell - though it has given us the opportunity to fart as much as we like and blame it on visiting Rotorua.
Taupo
Reaching Taupo we treated ourselves to a couple of nights in cabins at campgrounds so Pete could get a night of sleep without being curled up into a ball in the wendy house tent. It was here that Pete finally decided that he should have a go at a Bungy jump as he would regret leaving New Zealand without throwing himself off a bridge attached to an overgrown elastic band. After Ang's bravery on the Skydive, Pete was disappointed she could not be tempted into a "Lovers' Leap" tandem bungy so he had to jump alone. After being told that Taupo bungy were the experts in dunking you in the water Pete was disappointed that after falling 153feet he stopped only 1 foot above the water before speeding back upwards - or at least that is what he claims was going through his mind whilst dangling up-side down. Pete was surprised to learn
that his scream of "Oh Shoooot" was not just a whisper as he thought but in fact echoed through the valley for everyone to hear. He loved it so much that he had to go back the next day and use the offer of a second, half price bungy, and this time jump off backwards to get a bit more scared! All credit to Mr A. J. Hackett for inventing yet another fun and completely absurd Kiwi sport.
We spent the afternoon seeing a few more sights around Taupo before going to the puzzle world. We had previously visited one of these places in Wanaka with Angela's Dad and we knew how addictive the puzzles were. We were still scratching our heads 4 hours later and dragged ourselves away from the puzzles and computer games. Ang was very proud that she had set the high score on Tetris on most of the computers there.
Walking on the Moon
After Taupo we headed further south to the Tongariro National Park and World Heritage Area. We found out that it was unwise to walk up to the crater which we wanted to due to the snow that had
Mastercraftsman at Work
Pete creating his bone fish hook fallen over the last few days. Instead we were told to walk the Tongariro Crossing. We did not regret this - it has been rated as one of the best day walks to do in the world and we can certainly agree with this.
We set off at 7:30am and after a steep climb we were into the south crater just below the perfect cone shaped Mt Ngauruhoe. The landscape was as we would imagine the moon to be like. The clouds we blowing past and as they cleared every minute or so we were rewarded with awesome views of the volcanic scenery. Much of this landscape was used in the Lord of the Rings Movies.
Along the route there are lots of steaming holes in the ground, colourful lakes and volcanic stone everywhere. Ang being the geography geek that she is, had to take a few volcanic stones for her classroom and stuff them into Pete's rucksack. After reaching the high point at 1900m we slowly descended down to 800m where our bus was ready to take us back to our car. 7 hours of walking, but unbelievable scenery all the way. Unforgettable.
Tumu Tumu
Toobing
Our fun activities in New Zealand we not yet over. We disappeared underground at Waitomo for 1km of caving, swimming and sitting on big inner tubes gliding through the underground stream. Great fun and the sight of thousands of glow worms along the length of the caves was incredible. Pete even managed to fully submerge Ang in the chilly water when trying to "help" her over a protruding rock.
Auckland
We settled into a nice hostel (The Nomad Camel, would fully recommend it and not just for its free food) for 5 nights in Auckland, the last of our time in New Zealand. Despite being a little lazy for a few of these days we have also done some sight-seeing...
Small, Small World
Whilst in Auckland we went on the coast to coast walk which takes you across the city, through some of the very green parks and up a few of the 53 volcanoes which are in the city. We didn't make it all the way to the other coast and after 5 hours on the road (we were quite slow) we caught the train back to the hostel. Climbing up
Eden Hill and One Tree Hill (currently no tree hill) you get a great view across the city.
More remarkable than any of the great views was a chance encounter we had in Auckland Domain Park. We were walking along and I became aware that a big guy in a welsh rugby top was walking towards us. To my surprise and utter confusion it was Noel Kay, an Aussie workmate from back in Brum. He had just started a new job in Auckland a week ago and by shear luck happened to be walking through the same park as us at the same time. We were always wondering when we would bump unintentionally to someone we know as the world is indeed a very small place. Anyway we met again that evening and it was a good excuse to find a very good Belgian Beer bar and indulge in some great (and very strong) beers and eat waffles - like we need an excuse.
Waiheke Day
Only a 35 minute ferry ride from central Auckland and you arrive at beautiful Waiheke Island. Its amazing how quickly you could reach such a different atmosphere and community. Some
best mates from home, Ben and Sinead, used to live on Waiheke and kindly planned our Waiheke Day for us. Jumping on the 35 minute ferry we quickly hired a car and set off around the island, stopping at Ben and Sinead's old house and all the viewpoints doted along the scenic roads. One of Waiheke's biggest attractions is the quality vineyards spread all over the island. We headed to Stoneyridge vineyard to grab a bite to eat and sample some of their very fruity and very nice cabernet merlot whilst sat on their sunny veranda looking out over the grapevines. We were very lucky with the weather and could see great views across the island and out to sea. Sadly some parts of the island which we wanted to visit were closed for the winter (classed as after Easter). We stopped at many of the scenic bays but the sea had decided it was winter too and was absolutely freezing and we decided against any swimming.
After dropping off the car and running for the ferry we enjoyed a great sunset across the islands and Auckland City Skyline on the gentle ferry trip back to the city. The
The sulpur seriously stinks,
but there was far worse to come with the mud spa Island is a great place to escape the city. Auckland is really the only place in New Zealand where we found life was at a more hectic pace and you would definitely need to get out of it to relax a bit more if you lived here.
Long-haul time again
Having spent the last 3 months in Australia and New Zealand its about time to jump on another long haul flight and head off across the large Pacific Ocean. We have been shopping to refill our packs with western goodies and are making the most of understanding the locals here before being fully immersed in Spanish-speaking South America. Two stops before reaching Santiago though; Tahiti and Easter Island.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.478s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 14; qc: 81; dbt: 0.2445s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
Dan
non-member comment
It is long....
But it is quite good too. Some of the pictures are stunning. I like the rock jumping one, all the sunsets, and the big pointy tower one. Baby due in 6 days time (so I'm told) so will send pictures your way when I get one! Cheers guys.